Anti-Capitalist Protests in South Africa

From the 31st of August to the 7th of September in
Durban/South Africa the World Conference Against Racism
(WCAR) will be held, made up of the heads of state from
around the world.

The WCAR is organised by the United Nations.

Massive protests are expected against this conference in
South Africa - hundreds of thousands of people from arond
the world are expected on the streets.

The first reason for the protests is that the demand for
Reparations for the African people is not on the agenda of
the conference. African people from around the world have
demanded that they be repaid for 500 years of slavery and
exploitation under capitalism. Also, multinational
enterprises like Shell made huge profits under the racist
politics of the Apartheid-Regime that allowed them to
extremely exploit the South African people. Today the
enterprises are not willing to pay reparations for this.
The US government, being the faithful defender of Capital
that they are, has refused to attend the conference if
Reparations is on the agenda.

The second reason for the protests is that the cancellation
of the 3rd World debts is not on the agenda, too. For
example, debt repayment is the 2nd biggest thing on the
South African governments budget. Most of these debts where
run up under the apartheid government and used to keep the
people there down. Today the people of South Africa must
pay these debts back! The ANC-government has agreed to
that.

Finally the protests are against the ANC's Growth Employment
and Redistribution strategy. It is a neo-liberal Structural
Adjustment Programme that includes:

* The privatisation and commercialisation of state-owned
companies and utilities, including electricity, water, steel
and telecommunications;

* Cutbacks in social spending and in the size of the public
sector workforce;

* The deregulation of trade, imports, capital movements and
prices;

* An overall reduction in state spending and strict
neo-liberal monetary policies.

What this means in practice has become clear over the past
five years. It has meant cuts in state pensions, massive
layoffs, declining public hospitals, schools and roads, a
general decline in wage levels, daily electricity and water
cut-off's in poor communities and de-industrialisation under
the impact of intensified global competition etc.

The central point of the protests will be a demonstration
organised by an alliance of civil society groups on the 31st
of August in Durban.

We appeal to everyone to support the South African protests
with manifold actions around the world, protest faxes and
solidarity messages to strengthen their protests and to show
them all our solidarity.

Smash IMF and Worldbank !
Destroy capitalism !